good morning. deadly storm. a tornado rips through a small town leaving one dead and several others injured, this as the system makes its way east threatening more severe weather and even snow. missing abroad. an american college student in madrid vanishes without a trace and now a desperate search is under way. we'll speak exclusively to his mother, live. and up, up and away. a house takes flight powered by balloons. how one group of people brought

the heart warming tale to life. how one group of people brought the heart warming tale to life. today, march 6th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good sunday morning, everyone. welcome to "today." i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe. it's uncanny how the picture looked just like the movie. >> they got the house up to 10,000 feet. >> was there a family inside? >> i don't think so. >> the weather would have helped those balloons go up. the storm is expected to dump snow and rain across the entire eastern seaboard today and already left destruction in its wake. >> a massive tornado touched down and injured a dozen people. left hundreds of homes damaged and forced the evacuations of more than 1,000 people.

more of the tracking of the storm coming up. then, cracking a cold case. police think they finally solved the mystery of the east coast rapist. he's been on the loose for almost 14 years and the big break sounds like something right out of "law & order." a story that has been in the news a lot lately. bullying. the tragic outcome of teens who have been the subject of bullying but now "dateline" is asking the question, what would your kid do if they saw someone being bullied? it's a serious topic. our hidden cameras show parents as they learn and witness the truth about their own children. in our next half hour, driving without seeing. for those who are legally blind being able to drive is nearly impossible but now a new technology well on its way of offering the blind a new sense of freedom on the road. i had a chance to try it. as you see, i'm headed straight on the median there. a lot harder than you think it is. >> all about feedback. >> feeling and censosensors, re

interesting technology. we're going to begin with the severe weather that spawned a deadly tornado in the small town of rayne, louisiana. that's where the weather channel eric fisher is for us this morning. eric, good morning. >> good morning, lester. usually a time for celebration here in louisiana. mardi gras weekend makes what happened here yesterday all the more tragic. an ef-2 tornado and i can show you with winds of that speed can actually do. in this neighborhood here we had 60 homes destroyed by the strong winds and you can see the one off to the side here, the top half sheered off by that tornado that rolled through town. debris all across the road and we can look down the street here and taking some of the debris and hanging it in the trees and taking some limbs down and even some very large trees that have been here for a number of years just snapped like nothing. we did have 12 injuries reported when these winds rolled through

just before 12:00 a.m. on saturday. this is a story that will just break your heart. a mother protecting her child when the winds ramped up she was instinctively protecting her child and a tree came through their house and killed her. 21-year-old mother. a terrible story on mardi gras weekend. joining us this morning to talk a little bit about the situation. mayor, thank you for joining us this morning. have you seen anything like this in rayne before? >> we experienced hurricanes. >> what was it like here in town yesterday morning? >> total chaos. you want to make sure everyone was accounted for and safe and after that restoration of the community. >> are you hopeful we can get people back in their homes over the next couple days? >> absolutely. today we'll see a lot of progress with the electrical utility. we had some gas leaks that were causing us issues yesterday, too. all of that is under control and

the restoration of utilities and send people back in. >> mayor, thank you for joining us this morning for the update. we do appreciate it. the storm system is headed off towards the east. severe weather from the caroli e carolinas down towards florida. >> eric fisher, thank you very much. we'll turn to mike bettes now with details. >> lester, good morning. very affect weather this morning. maybe not as potent as what we saw yesterday along the gulf coast. heavy rain from florida all the way up towards maine. a flood threat today. lo look at the flood watches back down through the carolinas and the deep south. heavy rain and water coming out of its banks is an issue. behind our cold front, much colder. check this out, a snow threat today with winter storm warnings in effect. places like syracuse looks at areas from a foot of snow. winter storm warnings extend through the evening for heavy accumulation late in the season. more on your forecast coming up. right now, back to lester. >> we'll talk to you in a few

minutes, mike, thank you very much. a battle looms in congress and president obama has positive numbers over the jobs over the weekend. david gregory is here. good morning. >> good morning to you. >> he gets some good numbers. the unemployment rate is down from 9% to 8.9%. some republicans, including john boehner, says these numbers aren't falling fast enough. who is winning the spin war here? >> it will take some time. the economic recovery is happening and it's going in the right direction and more private sector involvement in that. but it is happening slowly and the hole is so big. so, there's a long way to go and, therefore, you'll have this back and forth that still goes on. the issue is, is the present doing what he can to get out of the way of a private sector-led comeback. that's the argument that he wants to make. >> i asked you this question a

couple weeks ago and i'm asking you the same question here. four years ago eight republicans that already announced their run for president. this time this year, there aren't any. is that because republicans right now don't find barack obama beatable? when do you think they might announce their names? if so, who is the frontrunner here? >> a couple, i think romney is a frontrunner. a more established republican, i think that puts romney in a good position as well as having the ability to raise money and really wage this fight. but he's got problems in the grassroots and he has a very divided republican party because of the tea party influence and, oh, by the way, he passed health care reform in massachusetts as governor there, which is a real albatross around his neck and become a real issue in the primary. the tea party divisions are part of why you see candidates hanging back. i also don't think that they see a compelling reason to try to jump in the fray now and face all the scrutiny and watch how these big budget battles play

themselves out on capitol hill to get a sense of where things are moving. >> one of the other potential gop candidates is mike huckabee who has been in the news recently and made comments about natalie portman's pregnancy out of wedlock and president obama being born in kenya. are these the comments he needs to be making right now if he's even thinking about running for office being at the white house? >> it's strange behavior, frankly. some strange choices that he's making. and i don't think helpful to him. but they also reflect this fact, that there's going to be a different track of the republican primary of who gets that popular republican vote and who gets that tea party vote and in some ways he's appealing to those impulses by taking on social conservative issues and also, you know, wading into the waters of some of these areas against obama. >> all right, david gregory, thank you very much. >> you're welcome. time to get a check of the morning's other headlines. for those we turn to richard lui, good morning.

>> good morning lester. good morning, jenna. we'll start in libya where the battles are intensifying east of tripo tripoli. richard haas more on that from triply. >> they are continuing to hold the town, which is about 400 miles to the east of tripoli, they have been making some stiff resistance as they try to drive towards the libyan capital itself. here in tripoli, the government remains in control and is engaged in a very bold propaganda campaign. the government is telling people to go out on the streets of tripoli to fire guns in the air and celebrate because the government says it has taken back a series of rebel-held towns and even incircled the city of benghazi. that appears not to be the case so people in tripoli are told to

celebrate victories that aren't taking place. >> richard engel live in libya, thank you so much. now to the trial of a u.s. contractor in cuba. allean gross brought communicatn equipment to that island. cuban tv reported the maryland man was found guilty but the state department says it's waiting for a verdict and it hopes he will be released there. and two recalls to tell you about this morning. unilever is recalling skippy reduced fat creamy and reduced fat super chunk and hazel nuts and mixed nuts are being recalled for possible e. coli contamination. seven cases of illnesses are linked from nuts. as the media rant continues, sheen's corner debuted last night online. the first webisode got 2 million people tuning in. he called the show a random, disorganized experiment that he

may air weekly or even daily. finally, the idea behind animated film "up" gets tested. a team of scientists, engineers and pilots used 300 colored helium balloons to lift that house over the skies of southern california. that house, by the way, 16 by 16 soared at 10,000 feet. the video from national geographic series, "how hard can it be?" 16 by 16, that's like a three bedroom apartment here in manhattan. >> with 14 bathrooms. mike bettes is back with a check of the forecast. >> very sloppy in the east and very good news and wet in the west. that is a look at youroo periods of rain coming through that could be heavy, could even be a thunderstorm. the high temperatures in the

upper 5 oh, say 6 to 12 hours. and that's a look at your weather. now, here's jenna. >> mike, thank you. now, to connecticut where people believe, police believe that they've captured an elusive predator who has terrorized women on the east coast since 1997. richard lui is back with more details. richard, good morning. >> the arrest of the alleged east coast rapist brought relief as police announced formal charges against the man taken into custody. 39-year-old aaron thomas, the man accused of being the east coast rapist has been released from a connecticut hospital after trying to hang himself in his new haven jail cell on saturday. it comes a day after police arrested thomas after a tip linked him to 17 rapes.

>> right over there, those apartments over there. >> reporter: most of the attacks were in the washington, d.c., area and then spread into new england. the suspect became known as the east coast rapist. after 14 years of scouring crime scenes, police had little evidence. victims' accounts led to these sketches and reports he had a low voice and chipped tooth. in that time, a six inch knife was the only object police were able to recover. hungry for new leads, authorities one week ago put up electronic billboards in seven state, up and down interstate 95, directing people to a website that resulted in tens of thousands of tips. one of which pointed to aaron thomas. police tracked their suspect to a connecticut courthouse where he's facing unrelated charges and during his lunch break when thomas tossed a cigarette butt, detectives ghaut break they had been waiting for. right out of a scene from "law & order." >> your son smokes? no, i do.

>> thank you. >> they pulled mark duffy dna off the cigarette. >> reporter: but in this case, analyzing the saliva on the cigarette butt took only a day. >> dna was collected and subsequently matched by the forensic sciences lab confirming that thomas was the east coast rapist. >> that's when we all learned that we had these connecting cases was through dna. >> reporter: thomas is being held on $1 million bail and expected to undergo a psych evaluation. he faces multiple charges including rape and sexual assault and due in court on monday. at the news conference on saturday, new haven police say although information developed quickly here over the past week, investigators worked tirelessly for years pursuing this case. back to you, jenna. >> richard lui, thank you. up next on "today" what do kids really do when faced with a bully? our hidden cameras show parents the truth how their kids react our hidden cameras show parents the truth how their kids react right after this.

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bullying has been in the news a lot lately. linked to failing grades, depression and in extreme cases even suicide. you may have talked to your kids about it, but are they getting the message. kate snow went to find out. >> as parents we all like to think my kid would never bully, my kid would never stand by and do nothing if a kid was being bullied. but one in three middle school and high school kids have been bullied at school. our kids are seeing it. have you ever wondered if we have taught them what to do when we are not in the room? we rented a school gym nasium and invited a group of teens to show us their sport swagger. they think it's for an nba news story about boys and athletics. they don't know the gym is rigged with hidden cameras or that we've hired two actors to play the bullies. >> you're running like a girl. >> reporter: the target is also

an actor who appears to have no athletic ability. >> like a little sissy girl. >> reporter: to these teens it will seem like our target is subjected to bullying. will anyone come to his defense? >> my name is brennan. >> i'm daniel. i'm 14 and i love track and field. >> reporter: i'm with their parents secretly watching them on hidden cameras. they all hope their kids will step in. the bullies waste no time targeting dylan. and cheering on the real bully. >> yeah. >> perfect right there. so far our bystanders are having mixed reaction. >> what is wrong with you? pick it up a notch. pick it up! >> he's so unhappy, he's so uncomfortable. >> reporter: but then this boy, elijah, speaks up. >> he just said, he's fine.

he just caught it, he's good. he's supporting the victim. >> reporter: now that elijah has spoken up, listen to the other real boys. >> positive energy. come on, guys, let's keep them goi going. >> reporter: so, in the end, elijah took the lead and it made a difference, just as his mother hoped. >> how does that feel? >> i'm happy, i'm proud. >> reporter: now, i go in, but i don't tell them what's going on. at least not right away. how is it going in here? >> it's great. great fun. great team work, everything. let's see how long they stick to that story. i will tell you something these three boys are actors and you've been on hidden cameras and we have been watching you with your parents. >> oh, i didn't know that. >> reporter: does it say something when i say, how was the team work? >> yeah. >> reporter: they're actually friends. >> why would you do that to another person? i thought it was wrong.

>> reporter: we ran these scenarios with different groups and afterward every kid did tell us they felt uncomfortable. they knew what was happening was wrong but they didn't know what to do. elijah was one of the true examples of standing up to the bullies, but that wasn't always the case. >> let me ask you about dylan, the actor playing the victim in this case. he's playing a part, but how did he feel being subjected? >> he is a great actor and he is gay in real life and he had been tormented as a teenager and he tells us about it and when one kid would say something like i elijah did, he felt it inside. >> what is the take away here? >> the take away is bystanders do matter. being neutral and just standing there, even adults, if you see something happening and you just sort of ignore it. being neutral is condoning what is happening. the other thing that came out for me, you have to talk to your kids frequently about this stuff. watch the show with them

tonight. >> looks like a good program. kate, thank you. you can see the "dateline" special right here on 7:00, 6:00 central. an american exchange student goes missing in spain. more on the frantic search and talk to his mother exclusively. it must be if you're doing all that overnight shipping. that must cost a fortune. it sure does. well, if it doesn't have to get there overnight, you can save a lot with priority mail flat rate envelopes. one flat rate to any state, just $4.95. that's cool and all... but it ain't my money. i seriously do not care... so, you don't care what anyone says, you want to save this company money! that's exactly what i was saying. hmmm... priority mail flat rate envelopes, just $4.95 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] introducing purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. developed with dermatologists... it's clinically proven to remove 99% of dirt and toxins and purify pores. and with natural willowbark

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still to come, the search for austin bice. >> first, these messages.

>> good morning, the time is 8:25. here's a look at some of our top stories. police have a person of interest in custody after two warehouse employees were run over in south baltimore. police say they noticed a man breaking into their vehicles. one of the workers was taken to shock trauma where he later died. the other is recovering in a hospital. police are investigating a shooting, a man was shot several times after 9:00 last night at this time there is no word on a suspect or a possible motive. police are searching for the man who abducted a teen. it happened friday night at east baltimore. police say a 19-year-old female was walking in the 900 block of north milton avenue when a hispanic man approached her. when she refused a ride. the teen managed to escape a short time later in the 200 block of north highland avenue.

if you have any information, please call police. residents in one neighborhood allegedly targeted by arson are fighting back. the most recent last month in the 800 block of bowmont avenue where a fire destroyed a home. residents barely made it out alive. >> we've got to keep the lights on, be neighborly watching out for one another. if we notice something suspicious, people of our neighborhood. come out, stand on the porch, look. whatever. you may have a crucial piece of information. >> her home was destroyed by fire early last month. the mayor, fire marshall and city council members were among those invited to the event yesterday.

>> welcome. good morning. off to a rough start this sunday. the rain is going to stay with us off and on through this evening. there could be minor flooding problems. we could pick up an inch to two inches in some areas. and don't be surprised if you hear thunder. rain is likely. the good part is it's going to be mild. the high temperatures should make it into the 50s. overnight, rain early. wouldn't be surprised if it mixed in with snow before it ended briefly and the skies will clear late tonight. the temperature will drop dramatically. and then during the day on monday, mostly sunny skies, breezy cooler. the high temperatures upper 40's. sunrise at 6:31.

seven hi day forecast. we'll see another chance of rain for wednesday night and thursday. with high temperatures again in the 50s. >> thanks for joining us. we're back on this sunday morning, the 6th day of march already, 2011. a little bit of a wet morning here in new york city, but wonderful crowd coming out here and spending part of their morning with us. we thank you all so very much. outside on the plaza alongside lester holt, i'm jenna wolfe. still to come in this half hour, where is austin bice. >> american college student studied abroad in spain and he went to a nightclub and the last

he has been seen. a frantic search. his father and friends looking for him in mu brid and you saw his mother there getting the latest on the search for her son. most people when they have a baby they take off a couple months and maybe even a couple weeks, can you imagine returning to your job 15 hours after having your baby? one texas woman did by choice. we'll fine out why. the baby was well dressed. >> she was. we all heard, remember when we took driving lessons at 16, keep your hands on the wheel and watch where you're driving. you have an incredible story about technology that is allowing blind people to drive. >> yes, legally blind. not like you can make out shapes and sizes, but legally blind is the new reality. driving without being able to see anything at all. this amazing technology. you really have to, no pun intended, see it to believe it. you it is based on sensors. you're using different senses and not sight. >> you gave it a try.

>> they said, oh, i failed miserably. but i did give it a try. what's interesting, i already know how to drive and i still did so poorly on it. you have to reteach yourself how to use this new technology. >> fascinating. looking forward to another check on the weather. we know what it's doing out here. >> no, no, no, i hate when he does that. >> we have to prove to the audience. >> don't ever mess with a woman's hair. >> look, they're trying to jam like 12 girls under the smallest umbrella ever. all right, a foot of snow potentially coming to syracuse, maybe a snow day for you tomorrow. show you what's happening out there today. we definitely have a cold front bringing some heavy rain and snow on the back, that does include syracuse and albany and big-time snow. tomorrow a much better day across the country with a lot of sunshine staying cool i

periods of rain coming through that could be heavy, could even be a thunderstorm. the high temperatures in the upper 5 >> and don't forget away from your tv you can always check your weather on weather.com 24/7. here's lester. >> thanks. an expansive search under way for an american student studying abroad in spain who has gone missing and not seen since friday. >> reporter: missing, the poster says, austin bice disappeared more than a week ago.

the san diego student was in spain. his father has flown to madrid to help in the search. >> i just want to thank you for all being here. it's hard for me to talk about it. but thank you. >> my dad is always doing this and i always wanted to, i like driving and i like coming out here and this is fun. >> reporter: the 22-year-old here at home a year ago helping out the driver in a charity effort, left america to look for more experiences. he was writing a blog about his adventures. it talks about school and life in spain. it should be a fun night, he says. that was the evening he vanished. >> the friends decided to go into ti into there and he decided to walk home and that was the last time that he was seen. heading north. >> reporter: he had been drinking and was on his own. he had been in spain for just a few months. he was very calm and very socialable says one of his new

friends. either with good clues or bad clues, says another. thousands have joined a facebook page as part of the effort to find him and a europe-wide police alert has been issued. his dad says he will stay in spain for as long as it takes to find his son. a young man who left america for an adventure whose family just wants to know he is safe. nbc news, london. >> joining us now from southern california is austin's mother, pam bice. thank you for being with us during this difficult time. >> good morning, lester. >> your husband as we noted is in madrid right now. what has he been able to do and organize there so far? >> they have a lot of volunteers helping search for austin. a lot of kids from the university. a lot of people that live in madrid. they have organized groups and sections that they're looking for him. he, we just, they're just

searching. they haven't found any clues as of yet. >> i think any of us who sent our kids in these study abroad programs have a little concern about them dealing in a new environment, a foreign country. did you have these conversations with your son? >> yes, we did. we always told him to go with groups which he most all the time has done that. he did like to walk in madrid. he felt he was safe. he would tell me that he walked home from a bar or restaurant. a lot of kids took the metro, but he chose to walk. >> and looking at the pictures -- >> we always -- >> i'm sorry, go ahead. >> we always, he's just a real friendly young man. so, if he met up with someone, he would talk to them. >> also, looking at the pictures and the video clip there, austin looks like a pretty tall,

strapping guy. i understand he played football. he looks like the kind of guy that would stand out if someone had seen him. >> you know, he's 6'5", 225. all the pictures that we're showing right now, he's clean shaven. but he does have a beard, a full beard right now. so, i think he does stand out. he's tall here, but i heard he is even a little more taller in madrid. >> how would you characterize the efforts of the madrid police so far in the investigation? >> you know, my husband feels they've done a great job. he's very satisfied. they have a lot of police force out there. they're working very, very hard. we just need to keep them out there and keep the volunteers out there looking for our son so we can bring him home. >> well, in this era and this world of social networking and getting this out, hopefully this will create more awareness.

pam bice, we appreciate you spending time with us and talking with us this morning. >> thank you. >> we're going to take a break. we'll be back with more after these messages. the plan we worked on for your retirement makes sense. just stay on track. what is... that's the guidance you get from fidelity. thanks. stay on the line! whatever your destination, fidelity will help you get there. because when it comes to investing, you should never settle. fidelity investments.

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amber branson is one tough basketball coach. shortly after coaching her high school team in a semifinal victory, branson gave birth to her daughter. it's what she did the next day that is even more impressive. here's janet shamlian. >> reporter: three big wins, but only two of them on the

basketball court. even show she was nine months pregnant and due any moment, she took her team to the semifinals in abilene, texas. 100 miles from her home, hospital and doctor. >> i had a few contractions in the morning and i didn't tell anyone and then friday during the game i was fine. >> reporter: but only for the first part of the do or die game. >> she called during the third quarter and said, i think i'm ready to have this baby. >> reporter: and a few hours after they won the game, she did. giving birth to daughter, leslie, 8 pounds, 7 ounces and she did it without drugs. >> i just started feeling contractions and from about 8:00 until she was born. it was pretty crazy and painful. >> reporter: it's what happened next that is the very deaf inition of true grit. 16 hours after giving birth, amber branson was back on the court with her team for the next game. contests that if they won would deliver them to the state

semi-finals. >> during the game i was fine as long as i was standing. i think emotions and adrenaline and everything else kept me going for a while. >> reporter: that determination did something special to her team. they were almost down and out. >> she pushes us to be tough and we want to be tough because she's tough. >> reporter: a coach delivering in more ways than one both on and off the court. for today, janet shamlian, nbc news, atlanta. >> i don't have kids, i can't even imagine. i have a cold and i take three weeks off. i can't even imagine. >> i have kids, but i've never been through labor, so i'm impressed. >> neither of us have any idea what we're talking about. still to come on "today," the new technology that allows the blind to drive. a great story. but first, these messages. ♪

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this morning it's not those healthy foods that really are not. he has a new book out called "eat this, not that no diet diet." great to see you. >> great to see you. >> like a lot of folks, i have been trying to clean up my eating. i see a lot of sugar and sodium and you call that healthy? >> that's what they're trying to do. americans are trying to eat healthier so more deceptive ways to fake you out and believing the stuff is healthy that you're eating. it sounds great and that's what the new book is all about. we put together these day-by-day new trishally perfect weight loss foods so you can eat all your favorite foods and lose a lot of belly fats. >> one i wrestled with trying to

find a granola that is really healthy. >> good luck with that. this is the mountain medley from koshi and it will make you look like you swallowed an al. 440 calories and the problem is granola has a lot of sugar and it has some fat and, in this case, the equivalent of going to bugg burger king and having this double ham and bacon croissant with cheese. have go lean cereal. you'll lose 300 calories by making that one smart swap. if you go from this granola to this go lean cereal you'll lose 30 pounds. >> same company offers a healthier option there. >> exactly. >> same story with popcorn. you have a popcorn here called natural -- >> orville redenbacher. it's a natural disaster. 30% of your saturated fat intake and 170 calories. so, this ends up being the

saturated fat equivalent of these ten crispy chicken nuggets. get the orville redenbacher smart pop popcorn. you're getting half the calories and getting more fiber and you're avoiding all that butter. >> this all goes back to label reading, doesn't it? >> it really does. you do have to wonder when it says smart what it says about the rest of the products out there. but it's definitely important to read the label. >> smoothies. i've been guilty of a smoothie after i workout thinking it's all good. >> you have to worry about this one from jamba juice. 560 calories and 39 spoonfuls of sugar in it. it ends up being the sugar equivalent of these 11 reese's peanut butter cups. liquid calories are absorbed by the body and takes you longer to feel full. when you're at jamba juice go for this strawberry whirl all

fruit smoothie because you'll cut 180 calories and you'll get 190% of your vitamin c requirements. >> and salads. i think we all know that salads are not always what they appear. not all salads are healthy. >> again, what's happening here, it's camouflaging, the leaves are camouflaging the salt and the fat. >> and this one is from applebees. >> 940 calories and it has 62 grams of fat. so, it ends up being the sodium equivalent of having all of these -- >> that whole bowl. >> that whole bowl of cheese curls. over a day's worth of sodium and half a day's worth of calories. you're much better off doing getting the steak. you go and get the peppercorn steak and all these sides and it's 390 calories. again, if you do this twice a week, you're going to end up losing 16 pounds this year by eating steak. >> baked potatoes and broccoli is less than this salad. >> that dressing is partly to

blame. >> dave, you always open our eyes. thank you so much for being here. now, here's jenna. back in 2004 the national federation of the blind challenged an american university to design a vehicle that would allow a blind person to drive with the same freedom as a sighted person. fast forward to today and that dream has become a reality and, now, there's hope in sight. mark is about to ignore the first rule of driving. keep your eyes on the road. legally blind since the age of 5, he is literally in the driver's seat. >> we're changing the way society thinks about blind people. >> reporter: this made possible thanks to cutting edge technology designed by students at virginia tech university, under the direction of dr. dennis hong. >> not a vehicle that drives a person around, but a vehicle

where they can drive. >> reporter: it's called a research vehicle and it's been fitted with sensors and cameras that basically see for the driver. >> all that information is actually fused together in a computing system back there which take that information and we send it back up to the driver's seat. >> reporter: the driver's seat is equipped with a vibrating seat cushion that is called the speed strip. >> you feel the vibrations move up your legs and when you slow down, you'll feel the vibrations move up your back. >> reporter: there's also a pair of gloves. >> you feel a vibration and you'll turn slightly towards that direction until the vibration stops. >> reporter: while it may sound simple enough, it's been five years in the making. did you go through a number of different options for how to communicate to the driver before you came up with the vibrations? >> yes. you could not imagine how many designs we had to go through. we've examined everything from temperature to vibrations and things like that and it's

actually, you know, not as simple as it seems. >> reporter: this vehicle was actually put to the test for real in january when mark made history at the daytona speedway. becoming the first blind person to legally drive a vehicle in public without the assistance of a sighted person. >> a great drive at dotonia international speedway. >> it's going to change the way people think about the possibilities for blind people. >> reporter: the goal here is not so much building a car that will help blind people, but getting blind people the proper tools to be able to drive a car amongst other things. >> absolutely. the end goal is driving, but along that way, we'll solve a lot of other technology problems for blind people and others and those problems are important. this technology will impact education, employment. >> reporter: with that said, i asked mark to take me for a spin here at virginia tech's smart road course test. >> we have done testing on this specific record. we've been over 30 miles per hour. >> reporter: impressive,

especially when you are relying on technology and not your eyes. were you nervous the very first time you got behind the wheel? >> sure, like any driver. i've done it. i've interact would the interface and i have confidence now in myself and in the capabilities that we put forward with this technology. >> reporter: so how hard could it be to do this even if you know how to drive? did we get very far yet? look where we are. oh, no, we almost hit a wall. >> reporter: thank you emergency stop button used three times by jesse in the back seat. after managing to only go 50 yards and maxing out at a whopping 4 miles per hour, i called it quits. i give you so much credit because before i got behind the wheel of the car i thought it was all the technology, but i didn't give enough credit to the person actually driving the car. >> that's why i say good job.

you took the challenge. it takes time getting beyond that psychological barrier. you built the nonvisual skill so other techniques that blind people use, very quickly, you'll learn how to do this. >> that was hard. he calls it a psycholodge xl barrier and that's what it is. to be in the car next to him and not being able to see. to get behind the wheel yourself and not being able to see, you have to rely on other senses. >> have they tried this in traffic with other vehicles? >> no. they're a long way off to bring us to regular main stream roadways and this is a huge, giant step forward technologically speaking to give the blind people the confidence to know that there is technology out there. >> congratulations, you kept it on the pavement. >> i went 50 yards, baby, 4 miles per hour. up next, the prince of monaco talks about his passion and the olympics, after these messages. ♪

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prince albert of monaco is in florida where he's attending the open of the art of the olympians museum and gallery. the prince competed in five winter olympics as a member of monaco's bob sled team. as car a sanders reports, he came to the states to inspire athletes of all ages. >> reporter: prince albert ii of monaco tosses a discuss covered in paint, much the way the late four-time gold medalist al border did. the world's only museum dedicated to art by olympians is officially open. i think when most people think of you, americans stop and think, of course, about your mother, the american actor, grace kelly. they think about her storybook wedding.

i'm not sure americans realize that you're a five-time olympic athlete in bobsled. what is it that now draws you to this art by olympians? >> i think the values that they embrace. determination, excellence, are also those of any art form. >> reporter: here, there are paintings by figure skater and gold medalist peggy fleming and graphic design by gold medal jumper beman. he is engaged to marry an olympic swimmer. your lovely bride is not here, so i know it would be inappropriate it ask you questions about your pending royal wedding, but perhaps you can share some tips on that other royal wedding. >> they are holding their wedding much before we will have ours, but we will be looking

very closely at how they're going to do it. >> reporter: royal weddings, maybe as grand this year as the olympics. for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news, ft. myers, florida. we'll check back in with david gregory, see what's coming up on the show. >> good morning, jenna. one of the events sweeping the middle east for america's economic recovery. can the white house and republicans reach an agreement on spending? i'll be joined by william daley. then the head of the tea party caucus in the house, republican michele bachmann. busy program this morning on "meet the press." that will do it for us on this sunday morning. richard lui, mike bettes, thank you for being here. coming up tuesday on "today" do you wonder what matt does when meredith does an interview or what goes on in the green room? >> while they're on the air kathie lee and hoda will host a

special show on our website showing you what happens behind the scenes here on "today." tune in and logon to today.com starting tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. >> could be fun. could be eye opening. >> could be. it will be. i'll see you back here tonight for nbc "nightly news." until then, have a great day, everyone. so long. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> up next, baltimore county executive is our qua guest answering your questions. and do you have proper tech etiquette in the work place? the new rules to follow in a digital age. >> and on this sunday morning we could have some miner flooding problems. and check the seven-day